Thursday, April 23, 2015

Books We Love - Husband edition

This special editon of Books We Love comes from my dear lovely Myl. It's one of my favourtie things to watch him snuggled up on the lounge with a book and two cuddly girls.

I love reading with my daughters. The first reason I enjoy reading because I get to go on an adventure with my daughters. It is like we have access to every world, universe, time period by opening a book and diving into the story. Whether we are wondering where the green sheep is or whether Aslan will save the day a new world of adventure awaits. The second reason is that I have enjoyed seeing the stories we read become apart of their stories. Children are so readily influenced by the world around them as they learn who they are and what the world is like that they exist in. It is a great blessing to read stories and see those stories become apart of the personalities of my daughters. I rejoice as I see them enjoy being protected like Lucy from Narnia, or being brave like the paper bag princess, or knowing that what they need most when they are scared is a cuddly bear to look after them. We all care about our children and we know that so many things influence who they are and how they experience life. It is wonderful bringing the voices Donaldson, Smith, Omerod, Lester and more to help teach my daughters of the wonder of life they may experience.

Image Credit School Library Journal

The Lion, the witch, and the Wardrobe - The Chronicles of Narnia - C S Lewis

My eldest Daughter was named after one of the main characters in this book. We loved the character and therefore we loved the name. It was the first book I read to her as she lay sleeping on my chest as a little baby. One time I was reading it to her and she cried appropriately when Edmund betrays his brother and sisters. In this wonderful tale of difficult pasts and wonderful futures where animals can talk and you can have tea with a faun it feels like anything is possible. I love the way this story stretches my daughters imaginations. There is a look of wonder as I see her mind working a thousand miles an hour to imagine the place of Narnia and the fun to be had there.

Maudie and Bear - Jan Omerod

I read this to both my daughters. It a series of stories of Maudie (a little blonde girl) and bear (a bear) as they go about everyday life. They encounter such problems as what they should wear when going for a bike ride and what to have morning tea as well as issues like how to act when you have accidentally hurt a friend. I love this story simply because I am bear and my daughter is Maudie. It feels like Omerod has written a book about us, for us. We have played day long games where I am always referred to as bear and my daughter is always Maudie (I am sternly corrected if I get that wrong and call her by her real name). At the end of one of the stories where Maudie is particular flustered by the events of the day and she is overwhelmed in tears bear’s response teaches me how to look after a little girl who is flustered and overwhelmed with tears. Sometimes little girls just need to sit in someones lap and be cuddled with a warm drink.

Magic Beach - Alison Lester

I love this book because it makes such a clear connection between life and imagination. The book follows the pattern of one page describing the situation that you might expect at a beach and then the next page enters the imaginative mind and allows us as readers to enter the world of adventure. Waves are wild white horses galloping past, sand castles are places to protect from dragons, little boats are large yachts looking out for pirates, sea shells are treasures left by the pirates as they steal ashore in the middle of the night. This book captures the joy I see in the freedom that imagination gives my children. Every circumstance has the potential for new events. Blank pieces of paper in the car become treasure maps that only my daughter can read and direct us from. Every piece of wood or stick becomes a wand from which magic changes the world around us. Dragons often appear and are to be hidden from. Life is not boring with imaginative children as the regular things of life become so much more.

The Paper Bag Princess - Robert Munsch

I love this story because it teaches my daughter that she can be more then a pretty face. She is capable and creative. She can learn and run and try hard and be brave and not wait for her prince charming to save her but take on the world herself. I can be pretty negative towards princess movies/books/themes because generally the princess seems to make ridiculous choices for the sake of a man i.e Ariel from the little mermaid gives up her greatest gift for the sake of loving a man. My hope for my daughter is not that she will settle for something because that is what she has but that she would be a princess who fights her own battles and travels her adventures. The paper bag princess doesn't settle for the silly prince who only cares about how she looks but goes off into the distance knowing there is more to her then a pretty face. She is wise, creative, clever, and above all brave. All things I hope for my little ones.

Sunshine - Jan Omerod

This story has no words, only pictures. Yet it is not a simplistic picture book. It tells the story of a little girl and what life looks like for her each morning. I love this book because I get to tell the story with my girls. We look at the pictures and tell the story together. As they have gotten older they have noticed more details and they told the story better. They have added emotions and facial expressions. They know the funny bits and the sweet bits so they look forward to them. I like this book because more then any other book we tell the story together based on the pictures before us. It readily becomes a story we make together. My favourite part is where the little girl wakes up her daddy by giving him a kiss on the cheek. This has now become apart of our family tradition, sometimes I fall asleep just to get a little kiss.